1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for storing print data in a printer that prints the stored data in response to a specific print command, a method for generating the print data file, a data storage medium embodying a computer program for implementing the steps of the method, and a file generator for compiling the data storage file.
2. Description of the Related Art
In addition to printing the name and price of the purchased products, as well as other transaction information, on sales receipts, modern POS terminals also commonly print a logo containing the store or company name on the receipts. Most such logos typically include a design graphic and decorative characters in the form of image data which is contained in image files.
Image files are typically rather large, which means there would be a noticeable increase in the time required to print each receipt if the logo data had to be sent to the printer each time a receipt is printed. This presents a problem since, it desirable to complete the checkout process, i.e., register the purchased products and print the receipt to complete the transaction, as quickly as possible. Fast printing is particularly desirable for a POS terminal.
Frequently printed logo data is therefore commonly stored in the non-volatile memory or storage of the POS terminal printer. The host system then only needs to send a specific command to the printer in order to print the logo. When the printer detects this command, it simply reads the logo specified by the print command from the non-volatile storage in order to print the logo. This technique eliminates the need to send the logo data (particularly image data) from the host, thus reducing the load on the host, eliminating the corresponding transmission time, and thereby significantly improving the effective print speed.
Modern POS printers are now capable of printing two or three colors. The ability to print multiple colors greatly increases the applications for which POS printers can be used beyond simply printing logos. Potential applications include, for example, printing product advertisements, event announcements, and coupons. Color images are also significantly larger than black and white images, and processing color images accordingly requires more time. The need to quickly print color images on a POS printer therefore makes it even more important to store the image data as logo data in the printer. As the number and variety of printing applications for a POS printer increases, storing the logo data in the printer will be increasingly more important.
As described above, the effective printing speed (throughput) can be improved and the processing load on the host can be alleviated by storing the logo data in non-volatile storage in the printer. However, after the logo data is generated various additional steps are needed in order to store the logo data in the printer's non-volatile storage.
Consider a POS printer connected to the host device of the POS terminal at a checkout station in a store. To store the logo data in the POS printer while the printer remains connected to the POS terminal, a logo storage program must be installed in the host device of the POS terminal. For example, the logo data (image information) is saved as a file. The logo storage program installed in the host then reads this file and stores the logo data to the printer. This requires reading the file, and sending the logo data and a store command to the POS printer. These steps are also necessary when the logo data file is sent to the POS terminal via a LAN or other network and the logo data is transferred from the POS terminal to the printer.
Installing such a logo storage program in each POS terminal is extremely time-consuming and cumbersome. It is alternatively possible to disconnect each POS printer from the POS terminal, and connect each printer to a dedicated logo data writer in order to store the logo data to the printer. This, however, requires that each printer be disconnected and then reconnected, which is even more time-consuming and further complicates the logo data storage operation.